How To Become A Clinical Services Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a clinical services director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Jacklyn Gentry

Clinical services directors are in charge of all the operational and administrative activities of a medical facility. Their ultimate objective is to ensure patients receive the best care possible.

Clinical services directors undertake activities to maintain high standards of patient care and advise medical staff on clinical service matters. In addition, their administrative responsibilities include supervising, recruiting, training, and providing continuous education for their staff.

Clinical services directors work closely with physicians and other professionals in their line of work. They typically work in hospitals, private clinics, nursing homes, or schools. Successful clinical services directors should have leadership skills, analytical skills, problem-solving skills, organizational skills, and communication skills. They should also be up to date with the laws and legislation around patient care.

Most clinical services directors work 40 hours a week, but they are expected to always be on call since they may be needed at the hospital at any time.

What general advice would you give to a clinical services director?

Dr. Jacklyn Gentry

Chair, Assistant Professor, Missouri Western State University

New graduate nurses are highly encouraged to take the NCLEX-RN exam as close to graduation as possible and to seek employment in an organization that offers a nurse residency program. Nurse residency programs provide the newly-licensed nurse with additional support as they transition into their first year of practice as a professional nurse. The programs are designed to support the new nurse to decrease turnover, reduce stress, improve decision-making skills, develop leadership skills, and incorporate research-based evidence into nursing practice.

ScoreClinical Services DirectorUS Average

Salary

7.1

Avg. Salary $90,816

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.73%

Asian 7.76%

Black or African American 11.51%

Hispanic or Latino 14.74%

Unknown 4.27%

White 60.98%

Gender

female 77.23%

male 22.77%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a clinical services director

Explore clinical services director education requirements

Most common clinical services director degrees

Bachelor's

42.9 %

Master's

24.8 %

Associate

24.5 %

Start to develop specific clinical services director skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	13.86%
Social Work	7.55%
Clinical Services	6.84%
Mental Health	6.66%
Quality Care	5.20%

Complete relevant clinical services director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New clinical services directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a clinical services director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real clinical services director resumes.

Research clinical services director duties and responsibilities

Supervise all clinical staff, participates and leads IDG lmeeting.
Complete comprehensive assessments for all LTC residents which include managing falls, pain, skin integrity, and medications.
Maintain compliance with OSHA, FDA, and HIPAA guidelines.
Maintain compliance with new and existing HIPAA and company client privacy requirements.

Get clinical services director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a clinical services director. The most common roles before becoming a clinical services director include staff nurse, registered nurse team lead and nursing director.

Prepare your clinical services director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your clinical services director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a clinical services director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable clinical services director resume templates

Build a professional clinical services director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your clinical services director resume.